Ever since the discovery of X-rays was made by Rö ntgen more than a hundred years ago, it has always been accepted that the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation such as mutation and carcinogenesis are attributable mainly to direct damage to DNA. Although evidence based on microdosimetric estimation in support of a bystander effect appears to be consistent, direct proof of such extranuclear͞extracellular effects are limited. Using a precision charged particle microbeam, we show here that irradiation of 20% of randomly selected A L cells with 20 alpha particles each results in a mutant fraction that is 3-fold higher than expected, assuming no bystander modulation effect. Furthermore, analysis by multiplex PCR shows that the types of mutants induced are significantly different from those of spontaneous origin. Pretreatment of cells with the radical scavenger DMSO had no effect on the mutagenic incidence. In contrast, cells pretreated with a 40 M dose of lindane, which inhibits cell-cell communication, significantly decreased the mutant yield. The doses of DMSO and lindane used in these experiments are nontoxic and nonmutagenic. We further examined the mutagenic yield when 5-10% of randomly selected cells were irradiated with 20 alpha particles each. Results showed, likewise, a higher mutant yield than expected assuming no bystander effects. Our studies provide clear evidence that irradiated cells can induce a bystander mutagenic response in neighboring cells not directly traversed by alpha particles and that cell-cell communication process play a critical role in mediating the bystander phenomenon.

Ever since x-rays were shown to induce mutation in Drosophila more than 70 years ago, prevailing dogma considered the genotoxic effects of ionizing radiation, such as mutations and carcinogenesis, as being due mostly to direct damage to the nucleus. Although there was indication that alpha particle traversal through cellular cytoplasm was innocuous, the full impact remained unknown. The availability of the microbeam at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility of Columbia University made it possible to target and irradiate the cytoplasm of individual cells in a highly localized spatial region. By using dual f luorochrome dyes (Hoechst and Nile Red) to locate nucleus and cellular cytoplasm, respectively, thereby avoiding inadvertent traversal of nuclei, we show here that cytoplasmic irradiation is mutagenic at the CD59 (S1) locus of human-hamster hybrid (A L ) cells, while inf licting minimal cytotoxicity. The principal class of mutations induced are similar to those of spontaneous origin and are entirely different from those of nuclear irradiation. Furthermore, experiments with radical scavenger and inhibitor of intracellular glutathione indicated that the mutagenicity of cytoplasmic irradiation depends on generation of reactive oxygen species. These findings suggest that cytoplasm is an important target for genotoxic effects of ionizing radiation, particularly radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. In addition, cytoplasmic traversal by alpha particles may be more dangerous than nuclear traversal, because the mutagenicity is accomplished by little or no killing of the target cells.

Arsenite, the trivalent form of arsenic present in the environment, is a known human carcinogen that lacked mutagenic activity in bacterial and standard mammalian cell mutation assays. We show herein that when evaluated in an assay (A L cell assay), in which both intragenic and multilocus mutations are detectable, that arsenite is in fact a strong dose-dependent mutagen and that it induces mostly large deletion mutations. Cotreatment of cells with the oxygen radical scavenger dimethyl sulfoxide significantly reduces the mutagenicity of arsenite. Thus, the carcinogenicity of arsenite can be explained at least in part by it being a mutagen that depends on reactive oxygen species for its activity.

Although arsenic is a well-established human carcinogen, the mechanisms by which it induces cancer remain poorly understood. We previously showed arsenite to be a potent mutagen in humanhamster hybrid (AL) cells, and that it induces predominantly multilocus deletions. We show here by confocal scanning microscopy with the fluorescent probe 5,6-chloromethyl-2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate that arsenite induces, within 5 min after treatment, a dose-dependent increase of up to 3-fold in intracellular oxyradical production. Concurrent treatment of cells with arsenite and the radical scavenger DMSO reduced the fluorescent intensity to control levels. ESR spectroscopy with 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-hydroxypiperidine (TEMPOL-H) as a probe in conjunction with superoxide dismutase and catalase to quench superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide, respectively, indicates that arsenite increases the levels of superoxide-driven hydroxyl radicals in these cells. Furthermore, reducing the intracellular levels of nonprotein sulfhydryls (mainly glutathione) in A L cells with buthionine S-R-sulfoximine increases the mutagenic potential of arsenite by more than 5-fold. The data are consistent with our previous results with the radical scavenger DMSO, which reduced the mutagenicity of arsenic in these cells, and provide convincing evidence that reactive oxygen species, particularly hydroxyl radicals, play an important causal role in the genotoxicity of arsenical compounds in mammalian cells.